Relatively Speaking
by MiguelCC51
Summary: A couple in a similar romantic situation meet up with Casey and Derek in Toronto. Future fic, I guess. Reviews are welcome, rating is precautionary. DASEY & LITERATI.
1. Introductions

**Relatively Speaking**

Disclaimer : Properties used belong to their respective companies/owners.

Chapter 1 - Introductions

Casey sat down in the cold chair, waiting quietly as other reporters were taking their seats around her. She still didn't know how she had managed to get a seat so close to the front of the auditorium, but Casey wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Better to just sit down, shut up, and go over the questions she had prepared to ask if she was called upon. She was so nervous, but she had to force that down and memorize the questions on her index cards. Even if she didn't get called on to ask any questions, Casey wanted to be prepared just in case. The last thing she wanted was her editor, who had given the vastly inexperienced Casey this incredible assignment, to feel regret for doing so.

"First time covering an Obama story, huh?"

"Excuse me?" Casey asked, glancing at the woman who'd just sat down beside her. She looked vaguely familiar to Casey, though she couldn't quite place the woman's face and name. Where had she seen this slim brunette woman with bright blue eyes before?

The woman, who appeared to be only a few years older than Casey, smiled and repeated the question. "First time covering an Obama story, right?"

"Is it that obvious?" Casey asked back with a weak smile, slightly wincing.

"You look as terrified as I felt when I first started covering his campaign five years ago," the woman nodded.

"How'd you get over it?" Casey asked.

"Well, I just reminded myself that he's still just a guy, despite everythings he's accomplished," the woman said.

"And how well did that work?"

"Pretty good," the woman nodded, then chuckled. "For about two minutes, anyway."

"Well, that's reassuring," Casey smirked, feeling a little bit better.

"Glad I could be some help," the woman laughed.

"I'm Casey McDonald, by the way," Casey introduced herself, presenting her hand. "Toronto Gazette."

"Hi, Casey," the woman greeted back, shaking the outstretched hand. "I'm Ro-"

"Attention," one of the press aides interupted, bringing their conversation to an end.

* * *

(An hour or two later, in a nearby Tim Horton's)

Derek Venturi glanced at his watch for the seventh time, fighting a losing battle with his severe boredom.

"You wouldn't happen to know the exchange rate between Canadian and US dollars, would you?"

Derek glanced up at that, his attention drawn to the guy in front of him.

"Yes, sir," the teenage clerk replied, her smile bright and cheerful. So much so that Derek wanted to reach over and slap that perkiness from the girl. "It'll just take a second."

"Take your time," the guy who'd asked the question said back, his tone betraying that he shared in Derek's opinion of the clerk's attitude. "Not like I have anything better to do," the guy added under his breath.

"Oh, no," the clerk squeaked as her till began making a loud noise. "What did I do?"

"Ah, jeez," the guy groaned, looking skyward before leaning forward to look at the screen. "Is it supposed to do that?"

"No," the girl whimpered.

Her manager walked up from behind her, glancing at the malfunctioning till. "What's going on here, Amanda?"

"The...the till just went wonky," Amanda cried, her chipperness from before gone. Derek thought she looked a little more scared now that her manager had arrived.

"Why don't we just switch to the other till?" The guy in front of Derek suggested.

"Please wait while we take care of this, sir," the manager said, ignoring the suggestion. He sounded rather arrogent to Derek.

"Whatever," the guy replied, then turned to Derek. "Got the time, buddy?"

Derek glanced at his watch again, answering. "It's twenty after five."

"Hmm, that gives me maybe another few minutes before I got to go meet up with her," he muttered aloud, scratching his chin. "She's gonna kill me if I don't bring her some coffee when I meet her."

"Picking up coffee for the woman, huh?" Derek asked, feeling a strange sort of sudden kinship with this guy.

"Yeah, she's loved the crap for longer than I've known her," he nodded, then sighed. "How about you?"

"Yeah, mine wants me to meet her with a double-double when I go pick her up," Derek replied, shuffling his feet as they waited for the manager to fix the till. "Though her addiction is rather recent, I doubt that'll stop Casey from ripping my head off if I don't show up with a very large cup of Timmy's in my hand."

"I get the Timmy's part, but what's a double-double?" the guy asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Two milk, two sugar," Derek explained.

"Huh," he nodded. "Interesting term that one. I'll have to mention that to Ro-"

"Sorry about that, sir," the manager interupted, rudely cutting into their conversation. "But everything seems to be in working order and we can now finish your order."

"And here I thought Canadians were supposed to be all polite and stuff," the guy smirked to Derek before turning back to the manager, who had replaced Amanda at the till.

"I'll inform the Bureau of Tourism about your complaint," Derek joked.

"Please do," the guy snorted, then ordered. "I'll have a couple of double-doubles." After he finished paying for his coffees, the guy turned back to Derek. "See around, buddy."

"Yeah, sure," Derek snorted, amused by the guy, who was obviously American. "See ya, bud."

"What would you like?" the manager asked.

"I'll have what he just got," Derek smirked.

* * *

(A little later, on the front steps of Toronto's city hall)

"I knew I'd seen you somewhere before," Casey said, sidling up to the brunette woman she'd been talking to before the news conference. "You're famous."

"I wouldn't say I'm famous," the woman snorted, an embarrassed smile on her lips. "I only just joined the CNN team, you know."

"Hell, I watch your segment whenever I can," Casey said, giddy that she was rubbing elbows with somebody she hoped to emulate in the future. "So you're famous in my opinion."

"You sound like my mom when you say that, Casey," she laughed, then turned her attention ahead of them. "Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes!"

Casey followed her gaze, finding a dark haired man around the same height as Derek standing at the bottom of the steps.

"I got you a double-double," the man said, a playful smirk coming to his face.

"Oh, coffee," the brunette beside Casey cooed, taking the cup from the man's hand hungrily.

"Hi, I'm Ca-" Casey began, holding her hand out before being interupted.

"Hey, Case!"

"Derek," Casey growled, playfully shaking her head as Derek made his way over.

"I bring coffee," Derek grinned, handing her a cup and kissing her on the cheek.

"Long time no see, buddy," the guy greeted Derek, wrapping his arm around the woman beside him.

"Right back at ya," Derek laughed, then stopped suddenly when his eyes came to the woman drinking her coffee like there was no tomorrow. "Hey, isn't that the girl you watch every Saturday on CNN?" He asked Casey, who simply nodded in response.

"Hi," the girl greeted.

"Holy crap," Derek swore, his eyes wide. "You're Rory Gilmore."

"Told you, you were famous," the guy beside her smirked.

"Oh, cork it, Jess," Rory pouted before returning to her coffee.

* * *

**Yeah, I know. It's dumb, but it was fun to write.**

**Taking into consideration that I'm spinning my wheels on all my other fics, I just needed to write something, anything that might help get me out of my rut. I ended up coming up with this idea after watching an episode of 'Life With Derek' while reading some Gilmore Girls fanfiction, and thought that it'd be fun to mix the two up. As I watched LWD, I realized that Derek and Casey were so obviously into each other, so I decided that if I was going to write this, I might as well throw in GG's own little 'step-loving' pair and see where it goes. I may or may not continue with this fic. Depends on reader response, really. And even then, there's no guarantee.**

**Hope you liked it and I await your response.**


	2. A Night Out In TO

Chapter 2 - A Night Out In TO

"Check it out, Case," Derek grinned, turning his attention from Rory and Jess. Shoving his hand into his jacket pocket, Derek pulled two ticket stubs and held them out to her. "I won a couple Leaf tickets from Sam at the poker game last night."

"So that's why you came home so late, eh?" Casey asked with a snort.

"Leaf tickets?" Rory asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Hockey," Casey and Derek clarified at the same time.

"Oh, right," Rory nodded.

"When's the game?" Casey asked, turning to Derek.

"Tonight," he replied.

"Derek," Casey frowned.

"What?"

"I've got Metric tickets for tonight, remember?" Casey reminded.

"Crap, that was tonight?" Derek asked, pressing palm against his forehead. "I completely forgot!"

"Who's Metric?" Jess asked, turning to Rory.

"No idea," Rory shrugged.

"They're a band I like," Casey explained, then turned back to Derek. "And don't think I'm falling for another one of your tricks, Derek. You knew that the concert was tonight."

"Come on, Case," Derek begged, waving the tickets in the air. "It's Game Seven. If they can beat the Rangers tonight, we're heading into the finals for the first time, in like, forever!"

"Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to get these tickets?" Casey asked, her voice rising slightly.

"Whatever happened to Casey the cheerleader?" Derek asked, smirking at her. "Speaking of which, you wouldn't happen to still have that uniform secreted away somewhere, would you?"

"Derek," Casey hissed, her cheeks turning a deep crimson.

"I wouldn't mind seeing that," Jess said, only to have Rory slap his arm. "What?"

"Pervert," Rory snorted.

"I meant the game," Jess stated, rubbing his arm in an exaggerated fashion.

"Sure, you did," Rory rolled her eyes.

"Hey, why don't you take Jess to the game, while Rory and I head over to the concert?" Casey suggested, perking up like she was oft to do whenever a brilliant idea came to her.

"That's not a bad idea," Derek agreed, then turned to Jess. "How about it, buddy?"

"Sure, what the hell," Jess shrugged.

"Now that we have that all settled, let's go and grab some more coffee," Rory said, grabbing Jess by his sleeve.

Jess sighed dramatically, "Addict."

"I love you, too, Dodger," Rory replied, smiling at him.

"Dodger?" Derek mouthed to Casey.

"Oliver Twist," Casey explained, immediately getting the reference.

"Huh?" Derek responded, still not understanding.

"Nevermind," Casey rolled her eyes before grabbing his arm. "Let's go. They're leaving us behind."

* * *

(Some hours later, inside the Air Canada Center)

"This is just insane," Jess stated, his eyes wide at the sea of people dressed in blue and white.

"Welcome to Leaf Nation, bud," Derek laughed, slapping him on the shoulder. "Don't tell anybody you're from New York, or we'll get lynched."

"I'll keep that in mind, thanks," Jess snorted, though his tone belied the sheer intimidation he was feeling from the crowd's frenzy.

"What we need now is some beer," Derek declared, heading to the nearest concession area.

"Wait up, Venturi," Jess called after him, following Derek as fast as he could because Jess did not want to be left stranded amongst the throng of Leaf fans clogging the immediate area. These people were frightening, especially to somebody who'd never been to an NHL game in his entire life. _I hope Rory's having a good time, at least._

* * *

(Elsewhere in TO)

"I can't believe I've never heard these guys before," Rory said, smiling over at Casey and handing her the iPod back. "They're pretty cool. I'm going to have to show Lane the next time I head back to Stars Hollow."

"My best friend Emily introduced them to me when I was back from college two years ago," Casey replied, pocketing the iPod as they approached the concert venue. "And I've loved them ever since."

"Thanks for lending me some casual clothes, by the way," Rory remarked as they entered the building. "I didn't really pack anything for concert going, so this means alot, Casey."

"No problem," Casey smiled, then stepped in line behind a large group of people.

They made their way into the auditorium and to their seats, which were situated near the front.

"These are some kick ass seats," Rory stated, sitting down in the fourth row.

"I know," Casey agreed, taking the seat beside her. "I had to pull some strings in order to get them, but it'll definitely be worth it when the music starts."

"Ooh, mood lighting," Rory cooed, causing Casey to laugh as the lights came down.

"Bam chickie bam, chickie boom boom boom, sha-lang sha-lang boom, sha-lang sha-lang boom," Emily Haines' voice suddenly screeched out of the sound system, bringing a loud cheer from the crowd. Many of which were attempting to chant along, Casey included. "Bam chickie bam, chickie boom boom boom, sha-lang sha-lang boom!"

* * *

(Back at the game, where Jess has taken a liking to Canadian beer)

"I can't you believe you missed that call," Jess screamed, banging the glass as the referee skated by. "What are you? Blind, or something?!"

"Somebody's picked up the spirit of game pretty quickly," Derek laughed, pulling his new friend back into his seat.

"This beer is insanely strong," Jess muttered, sitting back and taking another large gulp. "And good!"

"Easy there, partner," Derek warned. "I don't think Rory will appreciate it if I bring her guy back completely pissed."

"She won't care," Jess waved his hand dismissively. "It'll just make me more pliable later anyway."

"So didn't need to know that," Derek stated before turning his attention back to the game. As the referee skated near their seats again, Derek stood up and banged the glass, screaming at the top of his lungs like Jess had been a few moments before. "Hey, Watson, you're a fat, blind pig!"

"I think I'm starting to like hockey," Jess delared with a smirk, finishing his beer off.

"Go, go, go," Derek said in an excited tone, bringing Jess' focus onto the play. He watched as number 14 broke away from the rest of the players and carried the puck across the blueline, pulled a quick head fake move before lifting the puck over the sprawled out goalie. The crowd's reaction was loud and instantaneous, their simultaneous cheer erupted to a deafening level that caused Jess to drop his now empty beer cup to the floor in surprise.

"Holy crap!" Jess shouted.

"Way to go, Matty!" Derek shouted, banging on the glass in celebration.

_Yup, this place is completely insane,_ a woozy Jess thought before dodging an errant elbow from another excited Leaf fan.

* * *

(Two hours later, after the concert)

"That was so awesome," Rory declared, walking beside of her new friend. "I officially have a new favorite band!"

"My ears are still ringing," Casey stated, smiling at the brunette.

"Ah, the sign of a good concert," Rory sighed, then stopped when three very inebriated men dressed in blue hockey jerseys walked up to them.

"We're going to the finals, ladies!" The nearest one shouted at them, his beer breath making both Casey and Rory cringe.

"Next stop, Edmonton," one of his companions added, before promptly loosing his footing to fall on his butt.

"Oilers are going down," the last one declared, helping his fallen friend off the pavement. The three men continued on their way, chanting, "Go, Leafs, go!"

"This city is going to be a nut house for the next few weeks," Casey said to Rory.

"Shouldn't it be Leaves, not Leafs?" Rory asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"It's better not to think about the bad grammer and just go with it," Casey answered with a shrug.

"Alright, then," Rory chuckled.

"We should probably go find the guys," Casey replied, linking arms with the other girl. "I wouldn't be surprised if Derek was completely pissed drunk right now."

"Which means Jess will be as well," Rory deduced with a laugh.

"It's going to be a long night," Casey sighed.

They walked for a half hour before finally finding Jess and Derek, both men holding the other up as they were obviously intoxicated.

"Hey, Gilmore," Jess greeted with a dopey grin, almost falling when he attempted to step forward. "Whoa."

Derek gripped him, looking as though he was about to fall as well. "Not so fast, big guy."

"Gilmour?" Another inebriated Leaf fan asked, stopping beside them. "As in like Doug?"

"No, as in Rory," Rory answered, taking a step back. "Short for Lorelai."

"Oh, sorry," the guy said before continuing on his way.

"You have such a pretty name," Jess smiled.

"Okay, you're definitely drunk," Rory chuckled, stepping forward to take the weight off of Derek. "We should probably head back to the hotel."

Casey followed Rory's lead and grabbed hold of an unsteady Derek. Turning to Rory, she said, "You can crash at our place, it's closer and I've always wanted somebody to try out our guest room."

"Sounds like a good plan," Rory agreed, then added. "Besides, some of my stuff is still over there, huh?"

"I'd flag down a cab, but this crush is completely blocking the street, so we're going to have to hoof it for a few blocks," Casey stated with an apolgetic smirk.

"Then let's get going," Rory replied, struggling slightly with Jess' added weight. "This guy is alot heavier than he looks, you know."

"I know exactly where you're coming from," Casey sighed in understanding.

"Have I told you, lately, that I love you?" Derek began to sing to Casey as she visibily cringed at his off-key tone. "Have I told you ho-"

"Derek," Casey cut in, causing Derek to stop singing for her to speak. "Please don't serenade me."

"Have I told you how I much I really care," Derek finished, bringing a laugh from Rory and Jess as they all slowly made their way down Yonge Street.

**

* * *

**

**And that's chapter 2, which was pretty much pointless, but somehow entertaining to write.**

**Thanks for taking the time to read and please review when your done.**

**See you next time!**

**P.S. - No, I've never been to Toronto, so I have no idea of its layout. I'm more or less just guessing, since I'm too damn lazy to check Google Maps for confirmation.**


	3. Stepping Up

Chapter 3 - Stepping Up

"And here we are," Casey declared, propping Derek against the wall to dig in her bag for the door keys. "Home sweet home."

"Uh, I think I'm drunk," Derek groaned, stating the obvious.

"Really?" Rory snorted, holding a barely conscious Jess up. "We hadn't noticed."

"You're funny," Derek replied, giving her a cocky smirk. "Who knew that the political girl on CNN could be so funny?"

"I have my moments," Rory chuckled.

"Dizzy," Jess groaned under his breath.

"Ah, my poor Dodger," Rory cooed, patting his stomach in mock sympathy.

"How's that door coming along, Case?" Derek asked, looking suddenly green to Rory.

"Hold your horses, I've almost got it," Casey answered, unlocking the last deadbolt. "There."

Not an instant after Casey had said this, Derek rushed past and headed straight towards the washroom. A moment later, the unmistakable sound of retching could be heard, causing both girls to share a grimace of disgust.

"Ew," Casey stated, wrinkling her nose.

"Yeah, that can't be much fun," Rory agreed, leaning Jess against the wall so she could remove her shoes.

"What time is it?" Jess asked out of nowhere, sliding down onto his butt.

"It is now 11:11pm," Casey answered after glancing at her watch, then added. "Make a wish."

"I wish the room would stop spinning," Jess groaned, planting his face in his hands.

"Off to bed with you," Rory ordered, attempting to pull him up from his seated position on the floor.

"Here," Casey offered, noticing that the other girl was having little success with moving her boyfriend. "Let me help."

"Thanks," Rory smiled, grabbing Jess by his right arm. "On three?"

"On three," Casey nodded, grasping his left. "One...two...three!"

"Up we go," Rory grunted, hefting him up.

"Most guys would be envious of my position right now," Jess muttered, his arms draped over each girl.

"Don't make me drop you, Jess," Rory warned, though she sounded playful to Casey.

"Where'd Venturi go?" Jess asked as they entered the guest room, only to grimace as more retching could be heard from the open washroom door down the hall. "Nevermind."

* * *

"It's been quite a long time since I've seen Derek get that sick," Casey stated, sitting down beside Rory on the couch.

"Yeah, I can't remember the last time Jess was this hammered," Rory replied, flipping through a photo album she'd found on the coffee table.

"What do you have there?" Casey asked, leaning forward to look at the album.

"I found it laying open on the table, I hope you don't mind," Rory answered, turning the page.

"Oh, I remember when that was taken," Casey smiled, pointing to the photo of her and Derek sitting atop the hood of a rundown looking car. "It was when Derek and I first moved to here. To Toronto, I mean."

"Where did you guys move from?" Rory asked, intrigued to hear of her new friend's past.

"A little hole in the wall called Kitchener," Casey said, then shook her head. "That car was such a piece of crap, but Derek simply couldn't part with it. He just loved the Prince, even though he was so dead against taking it from George back in high school."

"So you were high school sweethearts?"

"Not even close," Casey snorted, rolling her eyes. "We couldn't stand each other for the majority of high school."

"Huh," Rory nodded, then turned to the next page. "Okay, who are all these people with you and Derek?"

"Oh, tha-" Casey began, only to stop when she noticed that it was a picture of the entire MacDonald-Venturi family.

"Happy Holidays from the Venturi & MacDonald family?" Rory read aloud, then glanced up at Casey with a confused expression.

"Oh, crap," Casey muttered, hiding her face in her hands.

"Wait a second," Rory said, putting two and two together. "Aren't your names Venturi an-"

"Yeah," Casey groaned, mortified by their secret being discovered. "Derek's my step-brother."

"Wow," a stunned Rory stated, closing the album. "That's...interesting."

"I can't believe I forgot that picture was in there," Casey lamented.

Rory started giggling, causing Casey to glance over at her with an expression that was a mix of hurt and confusion.

"I'm sorry," Rory sighed, recovering from her little fit. "I know I shouldn't laugh, but I was just thinking-"

"That Derek and I are total freaks?" Casey asked, frowning at her with barely controlled anger.

"No, not at all," Rory shook her head, her hands held up in defense. "It's just that-"

"Because if that's what you're thinking," Casey hissed, getting up from her seat. "Then you can grab your boyfriend and get-"

"Jess is my cousin," Rory blurted out, then quickly ammended. "Well, step-cousin, actually."

"What?" Casey stopped, her anger quickly shifting to confusion.

"His uncle Luke is married to my mom," Rory explained, smiling up at the other woman. "So don't go thinking that I'm judging your relationship when the one I share with Jess isn't all that different from the one you have with Derek."

"Really?" Casey sat back down beside her new friend, calmer than she was a moment before.

"Quite the pair we make, huh?" Rory asked, patting Casey's hand in a reassuring fashion.

"Cousin?" Casey asked, as though seeking confirmation.

"Step-cousin," Rory corrected.

"That's...interesting," Casey stated, then began giggling like a mad woman, to which Rory quickly joined her in doing.

* * *

"Good morning, sunshine," Casey greeted her boyfriend, pouring Rory a cup of coffee as Derek stumbled into the kitchen.

"Can somebody help me find that cat?" Derek grunted, walking up to the dinner table and plopping into the nearest chair.

"Which cat?" Rory asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"The one that took a crap in my mouth while I was sleeping," Derek groaned, wincing at the bright morning sun.

"Derek," Casey chided, throwing a roll at him. "That's no way to talk to our guest!"

"Sorry," Derek apologized, catching the roll with surprising dexterity for somebody hungover.

"Did somebody mention a cat?" Jess asked, arriving on wobbly legs. "Because I think he got me, too."

"You guys are disgusting," Casey scoffed.

"Yeah," Rory agreed, though the look on her face betrayed her amusement.

"So how was your sleep, bro?" Casey asked, delighting in Derek's shocked expression.

"Case?" Derek montioned to Rory and Jess. "Ixnay on the brosnay."

"What's going on?" Jess asked, glacing over at Rory. "Did she just call him 'bro', Rory?"

"Why yes, she did," Rory confirmed, then added with a smirk. "Cous."

"Huh?" Jess and Derek said at the same time, both men completely flabbergasted by their now giggling girlfriends.

* * *

**Yeah, it was short, but I really don't know what to do with this fic anymore. I started it on a half-ass whim and now I've run out of ideas on where it should go. So I think I'll just end it here for now. I may eventually get back to it in the future, but that seems highly unlikely at this juncture.**

**Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed reading it and please feel free to review. Oh, and if you have any ideas on how I should proceed with the fic, feel free to share them. Or not. Whatever.**

**Thanks for your time and peace out, yo!**


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